A spokesman for the Mexican bishops’ conference has confirmed details of Benedict XVI’s upcoming visit to Mexico originally published by the newspaper Reforma, which reported that the papal visit would occur on March 23-26.
The spokesman, Fr Manuel Corral, said that details of the visit “are not official”, although he said the Pope would only visit the state of Guanajuato and its environs in west central Mexico.
Fr Corral said that specific details of the visit were likely to be made public before the end of the year.
Citing comments from the president of the bishops’ conference, Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla, Reforma reported that Pope Benedict would celebrate Mass on March 25 at the Parque Guanajuato Bicentenario in Silao, near the city of Leon and 220 miles northwest of Mexico City.
Pope Benedict also is expected to visit Cuba during his trip, the first to both countries since he was elected in 2005.